Rubio has 'frank' talks with Russia's Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur

By Daphne Psaledakis

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expressed the United States' frustration that more progress has not been made on ending the war in Ukraine in a meeting on Thursday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

"It was a frank conversation. It was an important one," Rubio said his 50-minute talks with the Russian foreign minister on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia.

He said he expressed to Lavrov what U.S. President Donald Trump has said publicly, "that there's not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict."

The envoys' second in-person meeting came amid intensified Russian attacks in Ukraine. Trump has grown increasingly - and publicly - frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war drags on.

Rubio said he and Lavrov shared some ideas, including "a new or a different approach" from the Russian side, which he would relay to Trump upon his return.

"We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude," Rubio said.

Russian drones and missiles bore down on the Ukrainian capital early on Thursday, as escalating Russian attacks have strained Ukrainian air defenses, forcing thousands into bomb shelters overnight.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched 18 missiles and around 400 drones in an attack that primarily targeted the capital Kyiv.

There was no comment from Moscow, which the previous night launched a record 728 drones at its smaller neighbor.

Trump returned to power this year promising a swift end to the war, which began in 2022, and had been more conciliatory toward Moscow than his predecessor Joe Biden, who backed Kyiv staunchly.

But on Tuesday, a day after ordering a resumption of deliveries of U.S. defensive weapons to Ukraine, he was unusually critical, saying Putin's statements on moving towards peace were "meaningless."

Trump has also said he is considering supporting a bill that would impose steep sanctions on Russia, including 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium or other exports.

Rubio said the Trump administration has been engaging with the U.S. Senate on that bill.

Rubio spoke with Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday evening, having already met with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in his first trip to Asia since taking office.

The two diplomats first met in Saudi Arabia in February as part of Trump's effort to re-establish relations and help negotiate an end to the war.

The counterparts also spoke by phone in May and June.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was relaxed about Trump's criticism and would keep trying to fix "broken" relations with Washington.

At a conference of Ukraine-friendly nations in Rome on Wednesday, Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg met with Zelenskiy.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Rozanna Latiff; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Writing by Ismail Shakil, Doina Chiacu; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Michael Perry, Kevin Liffey, Chizu Nomiyama, Philippa Fletcher)